8 Bootstrapped Startups change the World at TNW Conference 2022

"How many of you truly feel that you're making a positive impact in the world?"

An earnest question to kickoff uPledge's pitch at the The Next Web (TNW) Conference back in June 2022 in Amsterdam. The startup pitch event saw a full turnout at the Growth Quarters of the Taets Art and Events Park. 8 early-stage founders were selected from the pool of startups that lined the halls of the riverbank exhibition centre.

TNW Conference is where industry leaders and tech enthusiasts alike come together, to explore how tech will shape the world of tomorrow. 

Sustainability was a hot topic of interest during the session. Not only were five out of the eight startups focused on Impact-driven initiatives, but the panel of experts moderating the session were made up of venture capitalists and early stage financiers with strong impact alignments, among them were SFC Capital, Rockstart, CapitalT and VNV Global. TNW 2022 had also committed to zero waste and renewable energy goals by introducing recycling hubs and sourcing 75% of energy needs from wind turbines.

With this many changemakers under one roof, it begs the question - how is the consumer and retail market responding to impact founders and supporting impact initiatives? Aside from the occasional media coverage and social media hashtags, there aren’t many support systems out there for impact startups. Being a new domain in the market also means that typical investors' sentiments tend to be more pessimistic.

According to uPledge founder Andrew Chong, this is an opportunity for social and impact funding to make a difference. According to studies and surveys, retail investors tend to be more open to the idea of financing social initiatives and less profit-oriented. The only thing holding them back is technological inaccessibility. 

uPledge solves this by creating a platform which supports social ownership and impact, creating a new market for impact changemakers worldwide. Join us on the journey today!